Winnipeg is a prairie city located in the province of Manitoba in the centre of Canada. The population of the metropolitan area is roughly 740,000. The socio-economic strata of Winnipeg is very diverse. There is a large upper income sector that in comparison to other cities holds its own in terms of affluence. The majority of the population fits into the middle-class category, but in Winnipeg this middle-class is often upper middle-class. Large houses and expensive cars.

Below the above mentioned groups are a substantial blue-collar class. Working stiffs that drive the buses and build the farm machinery etc. And down below this group is a huge lower-income and unemployed group. This lowest group is mostly made up of recent immigrants from Africa and Asia and the cities ever expanding Aboriginal population.

This last group is where the legion of gang members come from. They feel disenfranchised and left out of the economic mainstream. Many of these people do not finish high school and get no practical employment training. Therefore the gangs provide an outlet for money, recognition and camaraderie. And the violence and criminal activity is what allows the gangs to exist, and the stronger gangs to thrive.

Gangs like the Hells Angels are not in it for the reasons mentioned above. They are solely a criminal organization out to make money from drugs, prostitution, illegal gambling etc. So lets get on with the long list of Winnipeg’s vast gang culture.

The Hells Angels in Winnipeg are in disarray after major Winnipeg Police operations against the gang. But they have vast resources across the country and therefore will be back in business soon. The widespread drug market in Winnipeg creates immense incentive for The Angels to re-organize, and fast.

The Hells Angels’ expansion into Manitoba began with a relationship with Los Bravos, a local motorcycle club. In 2000 Los Bravos were “patched over,” becoming a full-fledged Hells Angels chapter. The following investigations over the last two years have been executed with the following charges.

Project Defense

On February 15, 2006 the Manitoba Integrated Organized Crime Task Force, along with over 150 police officers from the RCMP, Winnipeg Police Service and Brandon Police Service, made numerous arrests and conducted searches as part of the investigation of Project Defense. Thirteen people were indicted on a variety of charges, including drug trafficking, extortion, proceeds of crime, and organized crime related offences. Only 3 were members of the Hells Angels.

Project Defense was initiated in November 2004 and focused on high level members of drug trafficking cells in the province of Manitoba, including members of the Manitoba Hells Angels. During the investigation police made numerous seizures that totaled in excess of seven kilograms of cocaine and three kilograms of methamphetamine from drug traffickers within the Manitoba Hells Angels organization and other drug trafficking cells. Arrest warrants were issued for thirteen individuals and 12 search warrants were authorized for locations in Winnipeg and area.

This long-term covert investigation was initiated by the Manitoba Integrated Organized Crime Task Force, which was established in the spring of 2004 when an Agreement was signed between the Winnipeg Police Service, the RCMP, the Brandon Police Service and the Province of Manitoba. The mandate of the task force was to disrupt and dismantle organized crime in the province of Manitoba.

Project Drill

On December 12, 2007 Project Drill came to an end, with Winnipeg Police raiding the Hells Angels clubhouse on Scotia Street. Project Drill started the previous evening with arrests in Thompson and continued throughout the night and early morning in Winnipeg and St. Pierre-Jolys. During the course of Project Drill, police seized vehicles, approximately $70,000 cash, firearms, marijuana, Hells Angel related documents/property and other offence related property. As of December 12, 14 people were in custody and four were still being sought.

Police said it was the second time the chapter president was the target in a police sting since the gang set up shop in the city in 2001. Hells Angels prospect member Al LeBras was also arrested at his Barber Street home in Wednesday’s raids.

The recently amended Criminal Property Forfeiture Act gives the province the power to seize the proceeds of crime. Police have exercised similar authority against Hells Angels members in other Canadian cities.

Project Divide

On December 2, 2009 Project Divide culminated with 26 arrests, and 8 arrest warrants still outstanding after the year long investigation. The investigation and arrests targeted alleged drug-trafficking and related activities of the Zig Zag Crew – a puppet club of the Hells Angels Winnipeg chapter.

Update May 22, 2012

A 2009 police photo of the Hells Angels annual poker run in Lac du Bonnet of a man identified by police as Thomas Wingett (right), and Redlined gang member Justin MacLeod (middle). The picture was entered as a court exhibit in 2012 for Project Flatlined, a Winnipeg police bust targeting the Hells Angels and its “friend” club, the Redlined. (DET. GRANT GOULET/Winnipeg Police Service)

Many of its members may be behind bars, but the Zig Zag Crew is anything but defunct, according to court documents obtained by the Winnipeg Sun.

And the Zig Zags could end up being one of two “friend” gangs supporting the Hells Angels in Manitoba, recently released court documents suggest.

The original so-called Hells Angels puppet club saw its ranks decimated in December 2009 in a police bust dubbed Project Divide. The Redlined quickly stepped in, tasked with battling a war in Winnipeg over drug turf with the rival Rock Machine, police have said. The feud heated up last summer with a series of shootings, firebombings and beatings.

Police suggest the local Hells Angels could wind up having two “friend” gangs as Zig Zag Crew associates are slowly released from prison, according to an affidavit filed by gang cops in Project Flatlined, a police operation targeting a specific cell of the Redlined and Hells Angels using surveillance and intercepted phone calls and text messages.

One of the conversations quietly captured by police involved the alleged president of the local HA, Dale Sweeney, talking on the phone to two other members in prison. One of the men alludes to a Zig Zag member’s beef.

“…He thinks maybe one of them might’ve called the cops on him, he doesn’t know,” Dale Donovan was quoted in court documents as saying.

“Yeah, well, the real, I can’t get into it much over the phone, but the reality is those guys just have to get along,” Sweeney was quoted as replying during the Oct. 15, 2011 conversation.

There’s two sides to every story, Sweeney was quoted as saying, suggesting they should meet for coffee.

“I just kind of said that they have to get along and if there’s an issue, well, sit down like men and work it out, right… We’re men, we don’t fight each other, we’re not kids,” Sweeney reportedly said. He is behind bars after being arrested in mid-March during Project Flatlined.

A local gang expert suggests the Hells Angels are poised to have both “friend” gangs operating in the city.

“I believe that Sweeney is speaking on behalf of the Redlined and expressing that he is ‘blessing’ the union, integration or co-existence of the Zig Zag Crew members with the Redlined,” wrote Det. Grant Goulet of the Winnipeg police organized crime unit in the affidavit used to pursue a peace bond against Cory Pinnel, an alleged member of the Redlined.

Redlined members have apparently received accolades on their handling of the war with Rock Machine rivals from Zig Zag Crew associates who are currently locked up, the report suggests.

The African Mafia are a territorial street gang in Winnipeg, Manitoba derived of former members of the once formidable Mad Cowz gang. The origins of this gang can be arguably traced back to the shooting death of 14-year-old Sirak “Shaggy” Okbazion. Shaggy fled troubled Eritrea with his parents when he was 6, and moved to Canada at age 10. Unable to assimilate to Native-bred Canadian culture, Shaggy found himself selling cocaine for the Mad Cowz four years later. In August 2004, he was shot three times through the chest outside a crack house; a victim in a high-stakes war with B-Side, a more established Aboriginal street gang. Infighting among the Mad Cowz over avenging Shaggy’s murder, along with disagreement over the distribution of funds amongst its members, led to an acrimonious split. Tension beget violence in 2005 as the African Mafia fought for control of the drug trade in a corner of Winnipeg’s west end. Their enemies include the Mad Cowz, B-Side, Most Organized Brothers and the Indian Posse. They are clicked up with the Native Syndicate.

The B-Side or ‘Broadway Boys’ are an Aboriginal based low level street gang formed in early 2000 in Winnipeg’s West Broadway area. Their formation involved the uniting of several members from other, lesser-known street gangs. This gang’s immense rivalry with neighboring gangs such as the Mad Cowz and African Mafia (which began around 2004) has made members declare a green light on African Canadian youths who rufused to join B-Side within the West End and West Broadway areas, whether gang-affiliated or not. This gang are also considered to be enemies to the Native Syndicate gang followed by the Northside Kings as well. Many of the members are on the cusp of adulthood and have not yet to challenge other established organized crime groups.

The Central are a known criminal organization based out of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Also known as (CTL), the Central gang was formed in 2002 by former high ranked members of the now defunct Deuce Gang. This gang’s membership consist of wayaward teens and mostly young adults from an array of different cultural backgrounds including Natives, Metis, Afro Canadians, Caucasians and a few Asians ranging in ages from mid teens to late thirties and are known to have their own black and white Sweaters, Jackets with the name CENTRAL or CTL on the back of them. The Central’s roots was implanted when the original Deuce gang was disbanded after a well known member was shot in Winnipeg’s West End in 2002. After the incident, other high ranking members of the Deuce began collaborating with members of another Central gang called the Central Boys and joined forces to form the group simply known as Central, named after the area where both gangs originated. Combining the two gangs was in direct defiance of the Indian Posse, who both the Deuce and Central Boys had a long standing feud with. Police and justice sources say that violent hostilities between the Central gang and other criminal organizations such as the Indian Posse, Most Organized Brothers, the Native Syndicate, and Zig Zag Crew have resulted in violent confrontation over control of “turf” for the weapon & drug trade. However, members of the Central gang have been linked with the formidable Manitoba Warriors and are known to be friendly towards the Loyalty Honour Silence gang.

The Indian Posse are an Aboriginal street gang set in Western Canada based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is one of the largest street gangs in Canada. Stories have been dated back to the inception of the gang around 1990, but members have said that the very first generation of Indian Posse was actually formed in 1988, inside Stony Mountain Institution. The Indian Posse operates under a paramilitary structure of Chiefs, Warriors and Strikers. The Chiefs are voted into power by the gangs Warriors and the Warriors control the Strikers. Strikers must prove their loyalty to the Warriors before the Warriors recommend the Striker to the Chiefs. Warriors are allowed to tattoo “bar arms” in their skin while the Chiefs tattoo a shield on their neck. Authorities theorize that Indian Posse members earn status in the gang by completing “missions” such as armed robberies, arson and homicides. Some reported recruitment incidents have been particularly savage affair, where the prospect has been forced to passively endure a 2 to 3 minute beating. Recruitment is often aggressively sought, with newly admitted prisoners pressured to receive tattoos with the letters “I.P.”Indian Posse members can also be identified by red bandannas or other articles of clothing. Authorities asserts that the Indian Posse, in addition to engaging in marijuana cultivation, auto theft, illegal firearms activities, gambling, and drug trafficking, also supports and facilitates criminal activities for the Hell’s Angels motorcycle club and Asian-based networks. Police claim the Indian Posse are still just focused on threatening violence and reputation and that they have not evolved as a gang with the same sophistication as the Manitoba Warriors. The Indian Posse‘s enemies include Redd Alert, Manitoba Warriors (along with the Alberta Warriors and Saskatchewan Warriors respectively), African Mafia, Loyalty Honour Silence, Most Organized Brothers, the CENTRAL, the White Boy Posse, the Zig Zag Crew and the Native Syndicate. Founding father Richard Wolfe ‘s notion of the Indian Posse as a gang with a dream of being “proud Indians,” who “will join the great Spirit in the sky”.

The Independent Soldiers are a loosely affiliated group of drug dealers involved in the manufacturing and distribution of marijuana and meth as well as the proliferation of cocaine and firearms. The Independent Soldiers emerged out of Vancouver’s large Sikh community, but now consists of many nationalities with higher positions generally filled with Indo-Canadians of Punjabi descent. This gang originated in southeast Vancouver and was once known as the Sunset Boys because they were active around the Sunset Community Centre. Former leader Sukvinder Singh Dosanjh died in a car crash, leaving the upper hierarchy of this gang in disarray. His brother Gerpal Singh “Paul” Dosanjh died in a hail of gunfire in an East Vancouver restaurant in March 2004. They are currently active in Kelowna and Abbotsford in British Columbia, and have members/associates in Calgary and Edmonton as well. Their main rivals are the United Nations (or UN) gang but I.S. members are considered ‘friendly’ towards the Hell’s Angels and allies of the Redd Alert. They are now active in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Calgary.

“Loyalty Honour Silence”

L.H.S’ is an acronym for a street gang in The Maples and Tyndall Park areas of Winnipeg and in Thompson, Manitoba, Canada. Loyalty, Honour and Silence are the creed and motto of this street level crime syndicate, although their activities are not restricted to the proliferation of narcotics alone. Members have been linked to an array of offences including Fraud, extortion & drug traffiking. Unlike other gangs, this gang is not restricted to any one area or limits membership to any particular ethnicity. The LHS was solely formed for the purpose of gaining large profit through the proceeds of crime. Some members have been known to sport articles of clothing baring the letters LHS, but this gang does not have an official color. In March 2002, Bekim Zeneli, 33, registered the LHS name as a legitimate company and appointed himself president, in an attempt to legitimize the gang in the eyes of police and the city. Zeneli was shot and killed in his birthplace of Thompson, Manitoba by members of the Oshawa, Ontario chapter of the Hell’s Angels over an on-going turf dispute. Despite this, the LHS is still a formidable force with nearly 50 to 60 main members (according to Police sources) say that they are starting to spread throughout Winnipeg’s North End. Police theorize that the LHS works in unison with the larger Manitoba Warriors and are friendly towards the CENTRAL gang as well. Being aligned with The Warriors has made them rivals of the Indian Posse, Native Syndicate and Redd Alert as well as with the Hells Angels and their under-link puppet clubs such as the Zig Zag Crew and the Redlined Support Club.

The Mad Cowz, who first appeared on police radar in 2004, were founded by displaced immigrant youths of African origin who banded together as a result of social isolation from the greater population of Winnipeg. Although started as a support mechanism for recent immigrants, police believe the Mad Cowz quickly became involved in the street level distribution of crack cocaine in the west end of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The gang burst on to the criminal scene in 2000 by targeting young new African immigrants to the city with aggressive tactics. Many newly arrived teens and young men struggled with the language and culture but were instantly welcomed by established criminals who preyed on them to do their bidding. Many of the founding members were no strangers to violence given the background of where they had come from and gone through in their home countries (Most members are of Sudanese or Somalian descent). This gang’s membership relies on displaced youth who have been exposed to a high degree of violence. With major profits to be made from drug trafficking in Winnipeg, several Mad Cowz members decided to break away and form their own group, which is known on the streets as the African Mafia. Their main rivals, aside from the African Mafia, are the B-Side, Native Syndicate, Most Organized Brothers, the Indian Posse and younger prospects of the Manitoba Warriors.

The Manitoba Warriors began as an exclusively Aboriginal based criminal organization and prison gang founded in 1992 by incarcerated Native and Meti inmates to rival traditional Biker/Aryan gangs and to protect Native and Meti inmates from Biker aggression. Upon release, members of the prison gang began recruiting young disenfranchised Aboriginal youths in their respective neighborhoods thus bolstering their numbers. Police estimate that membership of this gang range in the hundreds and span across at least two Provinces. Over the years, The Warriors established themselves as a well organized conglomerate, less likely than other groups to be involved in low-level and mid-level crime. Senior members of this gang were once known to wear Vests and jackets with the gang’s patch on the back (similar to Biker gang tradition) but also marked status levels by tattoos and ranks. Each member of the Manitoba Warriors hold a specific ranking (similar to Biker culture): a president, vice-president and sergeant-at-arms, and strikers. Would-be members must serve an apprenticeship, called “striking,” just as in Biker gang culture. Winnipeg’s gang unit database had 300+ active and 143 inactive members, almost all adults in 2000. Traditionally, the M.W.s have been challenging the Hells Angels over Winnipeg’s drug distribution network, that led to murders of 3 biker of the H.A’s in the late 90’s; the only Aboriginal street gang able to do so at the time. The Manitoba Warriors are known to associate with other criminal organizations such as the CENTRAL, Loyalty Honour Silence and Most Organized Brothers, distancing senior members of the gangs from daily criminal activity and police scrutiny.

As a prison gang, the Manitoba Warriors have been reported primarily in the Edmonton Institution, Headingley Correctional Institution and the Stony Mountain Institution. Neighborhoods frequented by this gang include The Maples, West End, West Kildonan, Weston, West Broadway, Point Douglas, Elmwood and Tynall Park, but their main territory’s are located in the Central and North End neighborhoods of Winnipeg. The Warriors are also represented in other cities and Provinces by other organizations adopting The Warriors banner such as the Alberta Warriors and Saskatchewan Warriors. Their enemies include the Native Syndicate, the Hells Angels, Redd Alert, Indian Posse and the Zig Zag Crew.

With the formation and growing strength of both the Indian Posse and Manitoba Warriors gang in Canada’s Western Provinces’ prison system, the necessity of having some gang protection led unaffiliated inmates to form the Native Syndicate in 1994. The Native Syndicate began as an Aboriginal prison gang consisting of hardened criminals in the Saskatchewan Penitentiary and Regina Correctional Centre. When incarcerated Aboriginal gangs became increasingly violent, Correctional Services Canada reportedly transferred some N.S. members to Manitoba and Alberta, where they began to set up chapters as well. As of 2000, there were 143 active and 19 inactive members in the Winnipeg police department’s gang unit database including generations of the same families, ranging in age from early teens to mid-50s. The Native Syndicate mimics Godfather-style mafioso structure, with a boss, an under-boss and a consigliere. Most senior Native Syndicate members are hard-core career criminals with a high propensity for violence. Members are marked by tattoos, starting with a distinctive NS on the web of the hand between thumb and index finger or of two feathers, a tomahawk and spears. Authorities maintain that this gang is very organized in correctional centres, but not so much on the streets. Their enemies include the Indian Posse, Manitoba Warriors (along with the Alberta Warriors and Saskatchewan Warriors respectively), the Most Organized Brothers, the White Boy Posse, Loyalty Honour Silence, CENTRAL and the Redd Alert gang. Despite their many enemies, the Native Syndicate have a lose connection to the Hell’s Angels, African Mafia and the Zig Zag Crew in Winnipeg. The Native Syndicate are primarily identified by the colour black, with Northern Manitoba members wearing the colours of the Raiders while members in Winnipeg dawn white bandannas.

A self-protective entity at first, the Redd Alert was formed behind federal prison walls in Alberta during the mid 1990s to ward off the aggresive recruiting tactics of the Alberta Warriors and Manitoba Warriors in prisons across Western Canadian Provinces. Founding members roots can be traced back to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and through out Hobbema and the Siksika Nation. The Redd Alert has been reported in numerous federal prisons such as the Edmonton Institution, Bowden Institution in Alberta and in several prisons in Winnipeg; but they have membership in all Prairie prisons. Members of Redd Alert adapted the color red as their official color, in symbolization of their Native background. As stated, the Redd Alert first began as a prison gang formed by incarcerated local toughs to battle an influx of Native gang members from Winnipeg who had been transferred from Stony Mountain Penitentiary to the Edmonton Max. Upon arrival, those Manitoban inmates (known as The Warriors) began recruiting within the prison system, preparing to take over the drug trade on the streets upon release. The Winnipegger’s gang recruiting tactics became so intense in prison that inmates refusing to join banded together to form Redd Alert. As they were released from jail, the Manitobans stayed in Edmonton and tried to take over the local drug trade, much to the dismay of the Redd Alert, who constantly engaged The Warriors and their associates in bloody brawls. Those Redd Alert members who were released from prison were sent to their respective neighbourhoods to recruit young soldiers to battle The Warriors (who, by then, had adopted the Alberta Warriors moniker). The Redd Alert have clashed with other gangs as well such as the Fresh Off the Boat, the Crazy Dragons, the United Nations gang in Vancouver and the Native Syndicate. Today, the Redd Alert has become a criminal enterprise, dealing drugs inside various Prisons and on the streets, staking its claim to turf in various communities across the prairies. Members have also been known to provide muscle for hire- collecting on drug debts, disciplining others and eliminating enemies. Their most revered rivals are the Alberta Warriors and Manitoba Warriors along with the Indian Posse, the White Boy Posse and Loyalty Honour Silence. The Redd Alert have the distinction of being the largest prison gang in all the Prairies and the largest street gang in Edmonton. Their allies include the Independent Soldiers based out of Vancouver, Canada and the Hells Angels’ Edmonton chapter.

The Redlined Support Club are a newer criminal organization or an under-link to the Hells Angels Motorcycle club, that authorities believe was founded around January of 2006 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Two long-time members of the Hells Angels assembled a new group to stand up to members of The Rock Machine trying to take over Winnipeg’s drug scene after the Angel’s grip on the city had been decimated by a joint police operation dubbed Project DIVIDE which saw the incarceration of members of both the Hells Angels and Zig Zag Crew. The Redlined Support Club is comprised entirely of imposing young men who are free in the community and have informally shown their allegiance to the Hells Angels in the past. Members of this gang are known to frequent the Elmwood, Transcona and St. Vital areas of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Unconcerned with police surveillance, members of this group are known to have their club’s logo sewn on articles of clothing, mainly in red and black (the clubs official colors). They are rivals of the Loyalty Honour Silence and the Winnipeg chapter of the The Rock Machine and allies of the Hells Angels and Zig Zag Crew.

The Rock Machine is a drug dealing organization that evolved into a motorcycle gang primarily based in Quebec, Canada. The group was initially formed as the result of an affiliation (the Alliance) between Montreal crime families such as the Pelletier Clan and other independent dealers who wished to resist the Hell’s Angels’ attempts to establish a monopoly on street-level drug trade in the city. A violent turf war ensued with the Hell’s Angels as a result of this during the 1990s. It was this turf war that prompted The Rock Machine to become a motorcycle club/criminal organization and align itself with the Bandidos motorcycle club from Texas. Initially most of The Rock Machine members did not even own motorcycles and chose not to wear leather vests like other motorcycle gangs that could easily identify members. Instead they had more inconspicuous ways of displaying their affiliation such as rings with the insignia of an eagle on it. In 2000, some of The Rock Machine in Quebec was absorbed into the Bandidos in a patch-over ceremony, but other members joined their former arch-enemy the Hell’s Angels when the Bandidos refused to immediately grant full-patch status to many of the more junior patched members of the gang. Although their presence is not as formidable as it was in the past, this gang is now known to have membership and associates in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The United Nations (also known as the Global United Nations Syndicate or G.U.N.S) is a criminal organization based in the Greater Vancouver area in British Columbia formed in the 1990s. The name alludes to the various ethnic origins of its members. It is believed the decision to have a multi-ethnic criminal organization was in direct defiance to the racist membership practices held by the Hells Angels (who are considered enemies), not allowing any minorities to join their ranks. Police have estimated the U.N gang has up to 100-150 core members in the Lower Mainland area of B.C. The alleged leader of the United Nations is Clayton Roueche, who shares the leadership role with Jing Bon Chan. It is rumored that the gang has a hierarchy similar to that of the Italian Mafia, yet takes inspiration from Chinese Triad gangs in their initiation techniques. Once potential members have proven themselves adequately, they are “made” during a ceremony in which they swear to uphold the laws of the gang. Some examples are: No hard drugs. No police informing. No committing a sexual act with a sworn brother’s spouse. No stealing from or ripping off sworn brothers. All these examples are believed to be punishable by death.

In the early days of the U.N gang, they were linked to Asian organized crime. But today, the gang has links to outlaw motorcycle gangs, Indo-Canadian and independent organized crime groups as well. The United Nations gang are known for their use of violence, threatening and intimidation and lack of fear of law enforcement. Police sources say the gang has established a choke hold on the drug trade in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. Their main rivals are the Independent Soldiers and Red Scorpions criminal organizations, but they are sworn enemies of the Hells Angels as well (although some U.N. members have working relationships with full patch H.A.s). Today, police believe the U.N is a structured organization that imports and distributes B.C bud and cocaine accumulating millions of dollars through Canada, the United States and Mexico. Police also believe they dabble in weapons trafficking, marijuana grow-ops, cross-border trafficking, extortion, kidnappings and the dealing of heroin and crystal meth. Authorities believe that the U.N gang is now actively applying their trade in other Canadian cities such as Winnipeg and Edmonton with underworld connections expanding into U.S. cities such as Seattle, Washington and northern California.

The Westside Outlaws used to be known as The West Central Outlaws they are a Aboriginal, Meti and Filipino territorial street gang in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. This gang only had about 10-20 members tops when they first started in 2004 of mostly teens with couple Adults who were known to call the shots for this gang till they grew larger now estimated around 50-60 members of Adults & teens in the West Central & Westend Neighborhoods of Winnipeg, The gang is still run by two leaders and They’ve have been around since 2004 their known for drug traffiking their colors are Black & Grey, their main Rival would be the Indian Posse in the Westend of Winnipeg. enemies also unclude the Mad Cowz, B-Side gangs they have also known to been in a few fights with a couple the Rap Groups known has WestBrook Records and Heatbag Records.

The Zig Zag Crew is a street gang consisting of mainly (but not exclusively) wayward Caucasian and Aboriginal youths and young adults which serves as an under-link or “puppet gang” to the more organized Hells Angels chapter in Winnipeg, Canada. Unlike other street gangs, membership to this gang cannot be achieved by means traditionally linked to street gangs such as being “jumped-in” or by committing some act of violence or delinquency. The Zig Zag Crew are more structured than most street gangs and model their recruiting tactics after Biker gangs, by having a hierarchy of membership from “prospects” to “full-fledged” members, patches and ranks. Since the Zig Zag Crew are closely aligned to the Hells Angels, their main rivals would be the Manitoba Warriors gang, who constantly challenges them for control of the drug trade in Winnipeg, followed by the CENTRAL and the Loyalty Honour Silence gangs. In certain prisons where their numbers are small, members of the Zig Zag Crew are known to click up with the larger Native Syndicate gang along with the Hells Angels and the Redlined Support Club. Members of the Zig Zag Crew can be identified by their tattoos and traditional biker vests with patches that sports the letters ZZC. There are over 60 members in the St. Boniface and Western area of Winnipeg, but some Aboriginal members of this gang come from the North End.

The synopsis below for the Asian Bomb Squad is verbatim from rapdict.org. It demonstrates how many people associated with gangs do not complete high school.

The Asian Bomb Squad (ABS) was actually once a dominant gang in the North End and West End of Winnipeg Manitoba. The gang also went by The Rolling 20’s Crips has the gangs colors were Blue White and Black the gang was known for being down straight ruthless as they were known for Arson, Murders, Car Thieft and Drug Traffiking and took their business real serious to other gangs. their main rival were mainly the Indian Posse gang were also enemies to the Manitoba Warriors Hells Angels, followed by the Deuce. but the gang were known to be allies to the Native Syndicate gang but around the year 2000 they started to break up has many members were murdered in gang fights & others moving to other cities the gang has lost its touch since the break up and only 20 – 30 core members remain in the cities West End & the West Central neighborhoods, the members who are left are now known to be repping the Winnipeg Westside Crips.

Posse Killas

The Posse Killers is a gang that was formed in the Winnipeg’s North End, with only 25 hardcore members in 2005 the gang is now known to be a larger gang with nearly 50 members in other neighbourhoods such has Central, Point Douglas & the Maples area of Winnipeg. They are known to be linked to the Manitoba Warriors gang and are rivals to the Indian Posse.

Until the social situation for the many gang members, and potential gang members, stabilizes the plethora of gangs will continue to exist in Winnipeg. There are just too many young people from the minority groups (especially Aboriginal) that have no direction and vision for their futures. Dysfunctional family situations, constant witness to substance abuse and violence leads these young people to move into the outer edges of society. No morals or ethics, only honour codes to their fellow gang members. The gang is their reason to exist. And their children will see the gang as their reason to exist also. And it will go on and on.

There more than this: “traditional” Italian mafia and Greek, Jewish, Polish and other equivalents, but they tend to be low key and have a lot of legit businesses too. Also, there is lots of Asian OC here now (eg. grow ops, human smuggling), and there always was tong organizations associated with Chinatown from way back, but these were low key too. Not sure if triads from the west coast are here like the Big Circle Boys, but if they are they too are discrete…

At least the Hells Angels don’t act like a bunch of punks and commit petty crimes and attack innocent people. We need more bikers and less low level wanna be thugs who are just ignorant and giving a bad reputation to the rest of the people of the same ethnic background. (native canadians)

I didnt realize this was a posting for gang members…i wouldnt have asked if anyone could say ‘hi’ to my man Troy. He aint in no gang ….just makes dumb fkn chioces. So he wont see any of you peeps.😛 peace

Crime and Crime Families come out of Knowledge and understanding of what makes it up.Recent shootings in Las Vegas involved six very high end cars. $100,000 and more. Kids in the West and East end of Winnipeg are not driving Massarati vehicles. They drive stolen vehicles or two tone vehicles, Rust and a color long faded. The gangs of Winnipeg are made up of a very uneducated lot who put themselves out for the bigger minds in society and that would be our South of the City where there is more money and more education , They fuel the small groups of criminals to do their dirty field work, knowing all the police attention will be focused on those groups the flushable forgot tens that no one cares about. than we are up and arms about how dangerous some areas are. Crime starts in a fashionable area funded by people who in general keep a really low key and raise their families and pay their taxes. It’s our little gangs of disposable , uneducated , shoot em ups that get all the credit and hardly make a living doing it the wrong way. They do not know what they are doing .What in fact they are doing a great service to the Crime Bosses of the city as they sit drinking coffee on Corydon while the Cops run around the LOW END OF WINNIPEG hunting the small nobody criminal that does not have a mind to know WHAT they are doing at all. So I agree KK . Gangs are the low lives doing the foot work for nothing….So why would these stupid people think so highly about themselves. They are what the rest of the world Flushes AWAY. DDTOPPS

Does anyone remember a guy, first name Ken, he was white, blondish, good looking and fit, some gang associations, mainly around 2002-2008.. He had a wife/gf/ for many years,two kids I think.. moved around alot, lived on Pandora in Transcona in 2004 I think, briefly on Qu’appelle in 2002, off Springfield in 2003.. yes he liked his drugs, probably too much.. used to box/fight had dreams of a career, never went anywhere..

Hello, I’m a TV reporter doing a story on racism and violence in Winnipeg. We are in town this month and would like to film with some of the established gangs. Would anyone be happy to talk to us on the street (on-camera)? They may cover their faces or use aliases if they wish. We are interested to hear their accounts of what things are like for them in Winnipeg.